Today blood collection organizations routinely separate whole blood by centrifugation into its various therapeutic components, such as red blood cells, platelets, and plasma.
Conventional blood processing systems and methods use durable centrifuge equipment in association with single use, sterile processing chambers, typically made of plastic. The centrifuge equipment introduces whole blood into these chambers while rotating them to create a centrifugal field.
Whole blood separates within the rotating chamber under the influence of the centrifugal field into higher density red blood cells and platelet-rich plasma. An intermediate layer of white blood cells and lymphocytes forms an interface between the red blood cells and platelet-rich plasma.
Conventional blood processing methods use durable centrifuge equipment in association with single use, sterile processing systems, typically made of plastic. The operator loads the disposable systems upon the centrifuge before processing and removes them afterwards.
Conventional centrifuges often do not permit easy access to the areas where the disposable systems reside during use. As a result, loading and unloading operations can be time consuming and tedious.
Disposable systems are often preformed into desired shapes to simplify the loading and unloading process. However, this approach is often counterproductive, as it increases the cost of the disposables.